X99

ASUS has released a new motherboard based on the LGA 2011v3 platform as a little brother to the recently reviewed X99 Deluxe II. This newest board is the X99-A II. While the specification and feature lists aren’t as long as the Deluxe II, like its big brother the X99-A II features extensive RGB LED control, a VRM which is more than adequate, and much more. Grab a drink, pull up a seat, and we’ll get going! Read More

With all the refreshed X99 based motherboards releasing due to the Broadwell-E launch we see a new contender from ASUS, their X99 Deluxe II. The original X99 Deluxe, then X99 Deluxe/U3.1, were range-topping motherboards for the ASUS Signature series and the new board is as well. Let’s take a look at all the features, both new and old, of the X99 Deluxe II before checking out the performance! Read More

Next up in our line of updated/new X99 boards is the ASUS ROG Strix X99 Gaming motherboard. The Strix nomenclature is new to the ASUS motherboard lineup, but we are certainly familiar with it in the video card world. This board, like its GPU counterparts, appears to combine the power and overclocking capabilities of the ROG line of boards, along with some features that also make it a solid gaming board as well from the Intel NIC to the (not really a gaming feature) RGB lighting on the PCIe slot locks and heatsink. Keep on reading for all the details and the results of our overclocking and performance testing! Read More

With all manufacturers releasing refreshed boards due to Broadwell-E launching we see a new contender from Gigabyte, their X99 Designare EX. Like me, I’m sure the first new feature you’ll notice about the Designare is the RGB lighting, but they have added plenty more than just lights. DIMM shielding, a PLX chip, and a few other features also add performance benefits. Pull up a seat, don your reading glasses, and we’ll dive in to this board! Read More

Today we are going to get a chance to review Intel’s next processor in their High-End Desktop (HEDT) platform. The king of the consumer hill used to be the mighty i7-5960X our friend Dino reviewed back in August of 2014. That ‘extreme’ CPU shook up the landscape then by providing the consumer with a high clocked, octo-core CPU with a total of 16 threads. Since then Intel brought to market their 14 nm Broadwell CPU architecture, on their mainstream platform, through their “tick-tock” cycle. Naturally, the next HEDT processor is based off the same 14nm lithography, Tri-gate(FinFET) technology is Broadwell-E. Broadwell-E, specifically the i7-6950X, brings us our first deca-core processor which isn’t based on the Xeon or Opteron platforms. Read More

I was pretty surprised when I received the info that EVGA is offering a DDR4 memory kit for review. Somehow I missed the fact that EVGA had entered the DRAM market some time ago and has already presented DDR3 and Read More

It has been a while since anything GIGABYTE has graced us with its presence at Overclockers.com, but it has come back with a vengeance in the form of their top of the line X99 overclocking motherboard – the X99 SOC Champion. You may remember a news article we published a couple weeks back outlining some of the features the new Champion series motherboards offer, such as faster XMP profile support (up to 3400 MHz!), all digital PWM, Realtek ALC1150 audio, and the Killer E2200 NIC, etc. Read More

Several weeks ago, we looked at ASRock’s X99 Fatality board and it turned out to be a pretty solid board all around with good overclocking, a quality audio CODEC, board layout, and features. Now we will take a look at their ‘King of the Hill’ overclocking board in the X99 OC Formula. The OC Formula series from ASRock is one of the more highly regarded boards, particularly for extreme overclocking in that they generally come with higher end and more robust power delivery to support such endeavors. “But wait there’s more!” While the board might be aimed at that crowd, there are still plenty of features for the average Joe that makes this board appealing to most anyone. Take a read below as we go over the features and put the board through its paces. Read More

Its a good day to be a PC enthusiast I have to say. A couple of weeks ago, Intel released their new Haswell-E enthusiast line of CPU’s and motherboards. Our very own Lvcoyote had a chance to review the flagship CPU, the i7 5960X, as well as a couple of other motherboards so far. Today, I bring you the first MSI X99 offering in its high end gaming board, the X99S Gaming 9 AC. Read More

EVGA has hit the X99/Haswell-E market with three new motherboard offerings. They include the X99 Micro, X99 FTW, and today’s review sample… the X99 Classified. As EVGA’s flagship X99 offering, it is aimed at the PC enthusiast, overclocker, and anyone looking to build a high performance system. A lot of attention was paid to the onboard devices EVGA used on this motherboard, which means you get a feature packed offering in the X99 Classified. Should this be the motherboard you choose for your X99 system build? Let’s find out if we can answer that question! Read More